The story behind how FC Barcelona 'snatched' Lamine Yamal from Espanyol

Lamine Yamal is, without a doubt, one of the great stars of FC Barcelona. Despite being only 17 years old, the talented right winger has already established himself as a key player in Hansi Flick's scheme, contributing both statistically, with 11 goals and 14 assists in the 2024-25 season, and in terms of overall gameplay. The '19' is a player who always generates imminent danger when he has the ball at his feet, bringing imbalance and creativity to the azulgrana offensive front.

The youth academy product is doing nothing more than fulfilling all the expectations placed on him, as seen in his performance in the lower categories of FC Barcelona, which he joined in 2014 from La Torreta. At that time, the club was particularly attentive to not lose a 'gem' of this caliber to another Catalan team and fierce rival, RCD Espanyol, even bringing him in for a trial.

How then did the arrival of Lamine Yamal to FC Barcelona happen if it was said that RCD Espanyol was ahead in this operation? This was explained by Albert Puig, former coordinator of the youth football team of the culé club, in an interview on 'Jijantes', where he detailed the story behind the Hispanic-Moroccan 'pearl' joining the club.

The story behind the signing of the azulgrana 'gem' by Barça

In this tale, three key names are Isidre Gil, scout for FC Barcelona, the president of La Torreta, Rafa Rodríguez, and Juan Gascón, coordinator of youth football at La Torreta. With this in mind, the story begins with Isidre Gil discovering Lamine Yamal during a visit to the playground of La Torreta. "Isidre Gil, a true legend, went to the playground of La Torreta and asked if there were any good players. Gascón replied: 'Look, there's a dark-haired kid who is very good.' The next day they played a match and won 6-0. Isidre saw him and said: 'This kid has to play for Barça'", commented Puig.

From that moment on, FC Barcelona's interest in Lamine Yamal grew even more. Another scout, Óscar Hernández, tried to see him in a match, but the right winger had already returned to his father's homeland. Even so, he sent a report to the club's sports management commenting on the need to act quickly, as the 'periquito' team also wanted to secure his services.

📸 EXCLUSIVE IMAGE @JijantesFC

This is the email that Oscar Hernández (coordinator of prebenjamines at Barça) sent to Marc Serra (former coordinator of football 7) to request that Lamine Yamal come to try out with Barça.

Espanyol was after him and Barça acted in time. pic.twitter.com/KWb0oWlSsY

— Jijantes FC (@JijantesFC) February 13, 2025

Why did Lamine Yamal and his entourage end up accepting FC Barcelona's offer?

Finally, Lamine Yamal attended a trial at FC Barcelona and in a short time, it was enough to appreciate the talent of the Spanish international. "Gascón told him a thousand times not to forget anything, but of course, he was a 6-year-old kid. He forgot his boots and we lent him some. During the training, he played the last 30 minutes against older boys and his talent shone immediately. Despite being one or two years younger than the others, he stood out incredibly. And, obviously, since I was there, you can imagine who made the decision", warned Puig.

"During the training, he played the last 30 minutes against older boys and his talent shone immediately"

This single day was enough for the azulgrana club to arrange a meeting with Lamine Yamal's representatives and the management of La Torreta to pave the way for his signing by FC Barcelona. "They were told: 'You have an offer from Espanyol and an offer from Barça, what do you want to do?' The parents thought it over calmly. Finally, the scout suggested asking the child directly. And Lamine said he wanted to go to Barça, mainly because of how well they treated him", emphasized Albert.

"Lamine said he wanted to go to Barça, mainly because of how well they treated him"

Furthermore, Puig revealed the key reason why Lamine Yamal and his entourage decided to join the FC Barcelona project. "At Barça, they provided him with all the training gear. These are things that may seem insignificant, but the little details matter. They told us: 'No one has ever treated us like you have.' It's not that Espanyol doesn't treat people well, but we did it better", he concluded.

And so, the rest is history.